Corpus Christi Hooks' home run-robbing catch ESPN's top play

CORPUS CHRISTI - When Corpus Christi outfielders Austin Wates and Brandon Barnes were headed at the left-center field wall while trying to catch a potential home run drive off the bat Nathan Freiman the game was not on the line.

Trailing 4-0, the Hooks were just six outs away from their seventh straight loss Saturday night. But when the pair jumped and tumbled over the short fence into the bullpen, magic was made. Video of Wates making the catch that took both outfielders over the fence earn the top play on ESPN's SportsCenter and later Monday won Sports Nation's "Best of the Best" title. See the vote

"We were both kind of tracking it and I heard someone in the bullpen scream 'Fence' and someone else screamed 'Jump!' " Wates told Greg Rajan of the Caller-Times after the game. "Instinctively, I did it. I knew I could catch it, but didn't know how close the fence was. I ended up flipping over and kind of landed on Barnes and looked in my glove and I had (the ball)."

"I've never seen that before," Hooks manager Keith Bodie said. "That was an unbelievable play."